Microsoft officially announces the Lumia 535, its first post-Nokia smartphone

So the rumours, regulatory body documents, and actual announcements turned out to be true, because Microsoft has just gone and unveiled its first smartphone to use the Lumia brand instead of the Nokia brand. Meet the Lumia 535.

So what is this new phone and is it any good? Well it seems as though Microsoft is sticking to its guns and focussing on the budget handset market for the time being, because this phone has an estimated price of 110€ before tax. Converted that’s £85, but it would be safer to guess that the phone will be closer to £100 when it arrives here.

The phone itself runs on Windows 8.1, and also comes with a 5-inch quarter HD display, a 5MP front facing camera for selfies and Skype calls, 15GB of free OneDrive storage, and full access to Microsoft Office. It also comes in single- or Dual-SIM variants for added flexibility.

According to Microsoft the phone is expected to start rolling out next month, with the UK release estimated for Q1 of 2015. While we don’t have any specific dates of UK prices, we do know that the phone will be available in green, orange, white, dark grey, cyan, and black